Help young mountain biker to go the distance

A young mountain biker of Barberton has been given the opportunity to act as a mountain-bike camp counsellor in America. He is now desperate as he will have to give up on this dream if he can’t find someone to assist him with finances. He is in need of a sponsor who will be willing to advance him R12 000 to pay for his return ticket.

Dillan Botha (19) is passionate about mountain biking and ever since he started racing, he has never missed the opportunity to enter competitions. During this year’s Barberton XCM Mountain Bike Challenge, his bicycle broke down the evening before the race on his way to pay the entry fee. This drawback didn’t deter him and the next day, with a borrowed mountain bike, he took part in the 75-kilometre race for men u/23. Besides the fact that he was unfamiliar with the bicycle, he still managed to improve his time of the previous year’s five hours and 18 minutes to four hours 45 minutes and came ninth in his category.

“It has always been a dream of mine to work at these summer camps as I love teaching people, especially kids. Being able to teach them the essence of mountain biking is just an added bonus,” he said.

Application forms, motivational videos and interviews were just some of the challenges to make this dream a reality, and seeing that young people from all over the world applied for this every year, it came as a huge surprise when the YMCA Camp Ernst, located outside Burlington, Kentucky decided they wanted him as counsellor.

“I applied through a company called CCUSA and can recommend them to anyone over 18 who is looking for a work in his or her gap year in the USA. Last year I decided to take a break before commencing my studies and I am currently working at NTT Toyota as a service adviser. Although I am saving money for the trip, my salary is not enough to pay for my flight ticket.”

He has to depart for the States on May 27 where he will work at the camp until August 8 during the annual American summer holidays.
“After this I have extra time which is called the grace period, in which I will have a month to travel until my visa expires. This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, and being from a single-parent household, I know that a chance such as this doesn’t fall out of the sky.”
After much research, the cheapest return airfare he came across still amounted to R12 000. Dillan is now in dire need of sponsors or someone who might be willing to advance him some of the cost.

“I will truly be grateful if anyone can help me with some form of sponsorship,” he said.
Once at the YMCA Camp Ernst, he will make money, but needs to get there first before he can earn it. “I really don’t want to give up this dream just because of a flight ticket that I cannot afford. So please, if you can find it in your heart to help me, even if it is not a lot, it will be appreciated more than you will ever know.”

Dillan can be contacted on 074-946-4389 or at dillanbothamtb@gmail.com